KEEPING YOUR
WILL
DATE
UP TO
Research from Royal London suggests that 54% of the UK
adult population don’t have a valid Will.
A Will may be invalid for a number
of reasons. It may not have been
signed properly. Your circumstances
may have changed meaning some
gifts will fail, or it may no longer be
fit for purpose.
The Society of Will Writers and
Estate
Planning
Practitioners
(SWW) is the largest self-regulatory
body governing the profession of
Will Writing and has members
throughout the UK but also across
the world. Our main responsibility
is to ensure that our members have
adequate insurance in place and are
safe to do business with.
Our advice is to review your Will
every three to five years to ensure
that your estate planning is up to
date, your family and friends are
provided for and to give you peace of
mind knowing that your affairs are
in order.
There are several factors that might
encourage you to write or rewrite
your Will. The death of a loved one,
the birth of a new child, purchasing
a house, and getting an inheritance
are all reasons which motivate
people to write their Will and it is a
very important legal document.
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The Society of Will Writers
The document itself allows you to
leave assets to your loved ones,
particularly your partner if you’re
unmarried, allows you to choose
guardians for your minor children,
appoint executors who you trust
to handle your estate, make gifts
to charity and to ringfence assets
where you suspect the asset will be
mishandled or squandered.
You can add your funeral wishes to
your Will and remove the stress for
your family at what will be a very
difficult time.
Writing your Will can be a complex
process to speak to a member of the
SWW for support or information.
SWW members are required to
adhere to our Code of Practice, keep
their knowledge up to date and must
provide us with proof of professional
indemnity insurance on an annual
basis.
You should ask to see the SWW
member’s ID card, ask for their
membership number and check them
out on our website. Alternatively,
give us a call and we will check our
system to see whether they are a
member.
The Society of Will Writers
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